Lin-chi's Titleless Man (Iron Flute 57.)

Lin-chi once said to his monks, “A titleless man lives upon flesh and blood, going out or coming in through the gateways of your face. Those who have not witnessed this fact, discover it this minute!”

A monk stood up and asked. “Who is a titleless man?”

Lin-chi suddenly came down from his chair, seized the monk by the collar of his robe, and exclaimed, “Speak! Speak!”

The monk was dumbfounded for a moment, so Lin-chi slapped him and said: “This titleless man is good for nothing!”

The titleless man is at peace with all happenings, free of labels, goes & comes as he pleases like a flash of autumn lightning. He is good because he is nothing. Speak or get slapped. Master Lin-chi knew the essence of the tea ceremony. "Cool in summer, warm in winter; flowers from the field; prepare for rain; enjoy a sip of tea together."

"At the Gateless Barrier"

At the Gateless Barrier, I play the old tunes on my bamboo flute./It's cold at night and everybody weeps to hear the ancient songs./Yet Zen is without sentiment.

I write. I do Zen. I play the bamboo flute.

"Great Nature, Great Manifestation, Great Realization." What does this mean? Every aspect of this life, which is Zen Enlightenment itself, is "great." Whether wonderful or terrifying or both it always "is" in a way that cannot be explained. Just try to explain it. Can you, or can't you?

It's just like when Master Ko Bong shouted "That's it! Ha, ha, ha, ha!" and broke his fan. Do you get it, or not? If you can tell me what you get, I'll bow to you. If you can't, I'll call you my Master. Either way, you win.

For more notes, poems and aphorisms: go here.See also 老虎: Lao Hu. Contact me at jyakunen(at)gmail.com.

Talk to the Moktak

There is nothing in the world bigger than the tip of an autumn hair, and Mount T'ai is little. No one has lived longer than a dead child, and P'eng-tsu died young. Heaven and earth were born at the same time I was, and the ten thousand things are one with me.-Master Chuang-Tzu